Cycling Route Death Valley De Peel - St. Joseph's Memorial Chapel (#6)

St. Joseph Memorial Chapel
As a thank you for the fact that the St. Joseph parish was spared from the violence of war, the pastor Van Leeuwen had a field chapel built in 1948 on the Straakvense Heideweg near the river De Aa. The architects Hans and Nico van der Laan design a chapel in accordance with the austere architectural style of the Bossche School.

Over time, the Saint Joseph Chapel falls into disrepair and the municipality demolishes the building in 1982 due to the new canal diversion. In 1995 a group of residents of Helmond took the initiative to rebuild the chapel in the Hortensiapark. The [towid] 35, current chapel [/ towid] is a replica and is an octagonal building of approximately five and a half meters wide and nine meters high. The top consists of a dome vault. In the chapel are memorial plaques with the names of war victims of Helmond.

The Memorial Chapel St. Joseph is used for commemorations, such as the Remembrance Day on May 4 and the commemoration of the liberation of Helmond on September 25.

Liberation Memorial Helmond St. Joris and the Dragon
The [towid] 36, liberation monument [/ towid] was designed by the sculptor Daniel Cornelis (Niel) Steenbergen and was unveiled on September 25, 1959 on Septemberplein at Willem Prinzenstraat. Although it is known as Saint George and the dragon, according to sculptor the archangel Michael is depicted here. The bronze statue shows a two and a half meter high Saint Michael with a spear in his right hand. The statue stands on a natural stone base with the years 1940-1945 on the front.

Due to the new construction and redesign of the Willem Prinzenstraat, the monument was moved to the Hortensiapark in 2005.

General
The bicycle route in Helmond is a collaboration between Death Valley De Peel of the Museum Klok & Peel, Heemkundekring Helmont, Stichting Helmond September 25, 1944 and TracesOfWar.nl. The route consists of a number of points, not all of which have a sign.

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Source

• Text: TracesOfWar
• Photos: Jeroen Koppes (1), Martin Damen (2), Death Valley De Peel (3)